A Walk in the Forest
by Im The Sweet
Summary: Ghastly and Tanith, needing some time away from the urban scene, take a walk in the forest. And with some resent life altering news, they have plenty to talk about. A one-shot, AU fic written by Tanzani Coil - The Only and myself.


**AU where Erskine was killed during the war, before the rescue team for him could get to him, meaning that the old Sanctuary (beneath the wax museum ) is still up. Ghastly's an Elder, along with Corrival Deuce as the Grand Mage. The Remnant outbreak caused Tanith to be occupied with a remnant for three days, but it was removed before it could imprint itself in her.**

**Written by Tanzani Coil - The Only and myself.**

**Enjoy!**

A Walk in the Forest

There were plenty of things to be done as an Elder Mage and a part time tailor. There were still papers that needed to be signed, he still hadn't started on the suit he had promised Skulduggery, he wasn't done with the boots he was making for Valkyrie, and there were even a few books he wanted to read, not because of luxury, but the information they held could come in handy within the next few months. Of all the things Ghastly should have been doing on his day off, he chose to spend it with the love of his life, Tanith.

The wind picked up and the breeze nipped at his nose. Ghastly wrapped an arm around his wife out of impulse, trying to shield her from the brisk air. She laughed, and allowed her husband to softly pull her into him; into his warmth. She sighed in content and buried her face into his torso, loving the feel of his arm wrapping protectively around her back and waist.

The chilly afternoon did nothing but bring a smile to her lips as Tanith strolled further and further into the forest. The leaves on the many trees were dancing in the wind; a couple of which landed on her head.

With her free hand, she covered Ghastly's hand with her own, and moved her head to rest on his bulky forearm. Her face was more prone to being cold there, with her features no longer hidden in his chest, but she didn't mind. He was there, and that was all she wanted. She looked up, seeing the sky starting to tint with orange, and she grinned. It'd be sunset soon.

Looking back to her husband, she squeezed his hand. "I didn't think you were one for long walks in the woods." She queried, raising an eyebrow, and she grinned.

"Neither did I," Ghastly answered back. He watched as the trees' branches submitted to the wind, and he subtly splayed his free hand to shelter them both from the oncoming gust. "It's going to be getting cold soon, might as well enjoy the weather while it's still bearable."

The weather really wasn't as bad as Ghastly was making it out to be. The cold air irritated his scars a bit, and they would become red and more predominant. _More ugly_, he though. As autumn drew to a close and winter was eager to begin, Ghastly was going outside less and less.

Tanith grinned as she watched Ghastly perform his elemental ability to keep the breeze off of them. The notion was small, but quite effective against her nose which had started to tint a little with red from the cold. She squeezed his other hand and sighed in content. "I was thinking, actually," she began, and she smiled, "When they arrive, we could take them up here for little walks." She said, her voice giving away her excitement.

She moved his hand from her hip to her belly, which, while it hadn't started to expand just yet, just to confirm what she was talking about. "If they're anything like me, then they'll love the winter." She stated, her eyes sparkling. "You could make 'em boots and coats, and they'd toddle around everywhere." She chuckled.

Speaking her thoughts was an act that came natural when she was in her husband's company. He was so incredibly easy to talk to, and recently, with the news of a baby inside of Tanith, thoughts were the one thing she ever talked about. She smiled and stood on her toes to plant a kiss on Ghastly's firm, but soft lips.

He kissed her back and let his hand rest on her tummy, satisfied to stay there. Ghastly loved how enthusiastic Tanith was about becoming a mother. He never though he'd meet a woman who would fall in love with him, never mind bear his children. He felt truly blessed.

"Sounds like a plan," he beamed. Tanith grinned, pleased that he agreed with her. He continued, "But you'll need some maternity clothes before our baby needs boots. Your body is in for a world of change soon."

She raised an eyebrow at his last comment, and shrugged. That was indeed true. "That's a good point actually." She turned to him, totally serious. "I can still wear leather, right?"

She thought about what he said, that her body will be changing soon. That...that was a bit worrying, for her at least. That meant fat, cravings, and stretch marks that could stay permanently. The idea of that wasn't a particularly pleasing one, she'd admit, but it would all be worth it in the end, right? It's not like they'd put Ghastly off, right?

"I wouldn't mind a cozy jumper, actually." She admitted, and kissed his nosed. "It better be nice and soft. Hey, maybe even some stretchy leggings would be nice too!" She said, her smile ever widening.

"Of course," Ghastly chuckled, "a jumper and leggings can go on the top of the list." Those particular articles of clothing would be easy for Ghastly to make, but the leather probably wasn't a good idea.

Tanith beamed and nodded in satisfaction. "Great! You should make the leggings extra baggy where my belly is, so that when I get... bigger, I'll fit into them right." she finished. That'd actually be quite comfortable, compared to her leathers. Her leathers were very, _very_ comfortable, but the idea of baggy jumpers and loose leggings made her feel quite cozy on the inside.

He took his hand away from her belly and held her hand instead, gently gripping it, and smiling when she gripped back. "I'm afraid you may need to retire from wearing leather for a while though, dear," He said. "It doesn't stretch well. Plus, you're skin will need room to breath if you want to reduce skin irritation."

She blinked up at him. "How on earth do you know that?" she asked, surprised. "You've been reading them preggers magazines?" She asked jokingly.

He nuzzled the top of her head. "I know these things because I'm an experience tailor. I've had quite a few pregnant women come to me for clothing in the past." And he only had two books about pregnancy that he had yet to read, but he wasn't going to tell her that.

A cloud overhead must've moved considerably, because in a matter of seconds the bright light of the sunset broke through of the cloud wall. She grinned at how it illuminated the shine in Ghastly's eyes. Looking out over the hills, behind the many trees, the sun's light reflected off of lakes nearby, suddenly making the place look magical. She breathed in the cold air, and sighed deeply. "It's so pretty." She whispered.

Ghastly hummed in response to Tanith's awe of the sky. It _was_ pretty. He blinked and paused to look at the sky.

He stopped walking and held his wife by the shoulders, he let go and backed away for a moment, looking her up and down. Tanith raised an eyebrow and watched him. He was already trying to imagine what her figure would look like farther into the pregnancy. What would her measurements be? "Given my birth weight...which my mother never stopped taking about, bless her soul, you'll probably end up getting pretty big." He cocked his head, realizing that his comment came out of nowhere. "But that's not a bad thing though."

She laughed. Now that it was mentioned, even without his bulky muscles, his build was evidently his mothers. Which _was_ big. She looked down at her belly thoughtfully; an average baby makes any woman's belly big. But a baby with Ghastly's build? Even more so. She shrugged and looked up, grinning as she did. "What can I say? Two fighters with abnormally big muscle masses would make one well built baby." She grinned, and stepped back to Ghastly's arms.

She looked up at his scar ridden head and smiled. "Y'know, this is probably a pretty dumb question, but given that you don't exactly have any hair, would that mean the baby's blonde?" She questioned with an eyebrow raised. "Or is there a possibility that it'd have your would-be hair colour?"

"It could be blonde," Ghastly mused as he linked arms with his wife. "But it could have brown hair, too," Ghastly said, pointing to his brow. "My hair colour is brown; I just don't grow it out."

Tanith looked at his eyebrows, which, even though she knew every inch of his appearance off by heart, hadn't considered that his hair colour was brown. She had just assumed that his eyebrows were dark. "Ohh," she said, understanding, "that makes sense."

He nodded. "I want it to have your hair though. I want...our child to look just like you." Even a few weeks go when Tanith told him she thought she might be pregnant he was worried about what the baby might look like. He was terrified that they would be bringing a scar faced child into the world. He remembered the pains he went through growing up with the burden of his scars, and he never wanted that for his own children. He was still hesitant to tell Tanith of this fear because he didn't want her to worry about anything else besides keeping herself and the baby healthy.

She looked up and smiled, kissing her husband again lightly on the lips. "Well, that'd be nice, if I may say so, but... I really want them to look a lot like their daddy." She murmured, and wrapped her arms around his neck. Letting her thoughts wander just again, she whispered dreamily, "It'd be nice if they had a few of your scars." Her voice was muffled, but she didn't mind. "They'd look beautiful."

"No," he said sorrowfully, holding her close, "no they wouldn't. People wouldn't accept them, they'd never get to go to school or make friends like a normal child. Trust me," he pulled back enough to look her in the eyes, "you don't want that for our child."

Tanith sighed along with him, and rubbed her cheek against his neck as they pulled each other closer. Why wouldn't he accept that those scars are something that make him look noble? Why do kids have to be so blunt and horrible? It was originally this idea that put her off, hearing of Ghastly's childhood often made her feel sick about what sort of a childhood her baby would have. Additionally, even if they were pretty or smart, then they'd get bullied for that, too. It wasn't _fair._"You don't understand." She countered softly, and raised her hand to his cheek, stroking the scars along him. "Even if they had flashing good looks and were as smart as could be, they'd get bullied for that, too." She said, her eyes drifting down. "You can't be too ugly nor too pretty, not too dumb or too smart. You just... You just have to be somehow perfect in the eyes of others, y'know? If you don't appeal to them, then there's nothing that we can do about it." She said, managing to will her eyes to look up into his again. "Trust me" She looked sadly at him. "One day I'll get you to look in the mirror and adore the scars that you have as much as I do. They're beautiful." She said, her voice giving away her gentle fondness that she has for his scars. Her fingers subconsciously started tracing the edges of them, along his forehead to the back of his neck.

"Still," Ghastly breathed, running a hand through her hair, "it's not a life I want for our child." he kissed her on top of the head. "I suppose it's not up to us how they look though."

Tanith smiled, her hand reaching up to meet Ghastly's as his hands fondled her hair. She let her eyes close as he spoke, but shrugged. "Yeah. Either way, I'd love them - our family - more than anything." She breathed, her eyes sparkling once again.

"would you like to keep walking?" He asked, trying to change the subject.

She squeezed his hand as a response, and rested her head on her husband's broad shoulder as they did. She wondered where her brother was now. No doubt he would've heard of the great Ghastly Bespoke, the elder to restore peace in Ireland, and the offspring of the battlefield boxer. Knowing that Ghastly was a strong, well kept, good mannered man, she knew that her brother would more than approve of their family.

That brought a question to her head. She looked up to grin at Ghastly. "Do you reckon Skulduggery's good with kids? He'd be like the playful, favourite uncle that, when the kid does see him, it'd be like a rare and special occasion. Or something." She said, and laughed. "Uncle Skulduggery." She said, chuckling.

Ghastly let the question sit before answering, thinking of the right way to answer. "I've not seen Skulduggery interact with many children, besides Valkyrie when she was younger, and he's not particularly playful either."

Tanith nodded, soaking in his words.

Ghastly let go of his wife's hand and placed it on her side again. "He had a child in a completely different era, he really knows next to nothing about children. No, our child would know him as the odd, wise skeleton that invites himself over on occasion," he sighed, "at the most _inopportune _times," he added, recalling the time Skulduggery had rapped on the shop's door to pick up a suit while Ghastly and Tanith were having a _moment_. Skulduggery had figured out what they had been doing right away. Given that it took Ghastly longer than usual to answer the door, and Ghastly's collar was a mess. At first it was embarrassing but Tanith and Ghastly could laugh about it now.

She looked up, and a knowing grin stepped onto her face. "Oh my God." She said, breathing in between fits of chuckles. "Never again." She said, letting a stupid grin cover her face that didn't back down.

Ghastly gave Tanith's hip a joking squeeze and she let out a laugh.

Walking normally now, she looked up at Ghastly again. "You're gonna be a great dad." She said as-a-matter-of-factly, her expression now smug. "The way you speak... It's like, the kid will immediately grow up to know what's right and wrong, y'know?"

Ghastly smiled proudly, "I'm old, I've had time to study what works in the world and what doesn't."

his smile slipped away as his mind wondered, thinking about his job as an Elder Mage and still trying to juggle his shop and spending time with his wife. With a child added to the mix he'd have to give up one of those things, and cutting Tanith out of the picture was out of the question.

he rested his head on hers, "I want to be around to raise our child, Tanith," he started, "I was thinking about stepping down from my place in the counsel and staring up my tailoring business full time again. I'd be home more to help and..." he trailed off.

Tanith's eyes, which had been contently closed, opened in surprise. "You're one of the very few people in Ireland that can do this job, you know that, right?" She asked, not sure what way to approach with an answer.

She had never been a fan of authority; they always made the long and stupid choices rather than the choices for a better cause. At least, it seemed that way. She was sure that choices that Sanctuaries made made sense to someone, somewhere, but not to her. Additionally, the staff was always killed off. This often worried Tanith to no end; sometimes she'd lay awake at night, waiting for her husband to come home. She'd never hesitate to bombard him with affection every time he returned.

On the other hand, he's a just, wise, youthful man. He's respected among many, and quite honestly one of the most ideal for the job. How on earth was she supposed to put all of this into words?

She hesitated. "I get why you want to quit and all, but... Don't get me wrong, I want you at home, doing your tailoring and looking after the baby." She said, too stubborn to admit she wanted him to look after her as well. "But... At the same time, you're the best option to be on the seat of elders, you know? What if we get put with someone as bad as Thruid Guild? It just..." She trailed off. She sighed and shook her head. She stopped walking, and turned to face Ghastly, a small smile on her face. She gently took his other hand and squeezed it in support.

"If I'm allowed to be selfish," she said, "then I'd allow you to stay at home and do your clothes and look after us. But, because being selfless and noble is our job, then I'd allow you to stay in the sanctuary, being an elder mage." She said thoughtfully. She cupped his cheek with one of her hands, letting go with one of his. "Either way, we'll do just fine." She said, that smile playing on her face.

Ghastly gently touched her hand that was raised to his face "Tanith, you say we'll be fine, but you know how unpredictable my schedule is. This is the first day off I've had in a long time, and things may have slowed down at the Sanctuary now, but what about when things pick up again. I've had to spend nights at the Sanctuary before, and some weeks I would only come home to sleep, shower , and try to have a meal with you. Corrival Deuce is a brilliant Grand Mage, I know he'd be able to find a suitable replacement for me." Ghastly took a deep, shaky breath, "I just don't want you playing the single mother."

Tanith nodded, understanding where he was coming from. And, of course, agreeing with every word he said. She thought about what she had said a few seconds earlier. Her fingers continued to stroke his cheek, and the scars that covered it. Her hands felt the way his cheeks almost trembled when he finished speaking, and with her other hand, embraced his other cheek.

She took a moment to think to herself, before finally speaking. "I just don't want to push you into anything." She said quietly, knowing that she was helping in no way whatsoever. She truly didn't know what to say. "I won't be playing the single mum until I become one. I suppose... For the next few months, I'd be okay by myself. Like us warriors are. It won't be until the last couple of months, when I'm big and, well, pregnant, that I'll need you, y'know?" She decided. "If you want to quit your job, which you seem to do, then you go and do just that." She said, her voice more encouraging.

Ghastly closed his eye, letting out a sigh of relief, and then brought his wife into a warm hug. "Stepping down won't be a quick process either. Corrival will probably want me present when he's looking at counsel candidates, but I'll make sure it's all done and over with when you need me. Honestly, you and the baby are my number one priority." He pause to hold her just a little bit tighter. "Plus starting up my tailoring business again should be fun." Sew was a stress reliever for Ghastly, and knowing that he'd be back doing what he loved for a living lifted a huge weight off of his shoulders.

Tanith sighed in relief, and rubbed her cheek against Ghastly's as she was pulled into a tight hug. He felt warm, the kind of warm that makes you feel comforted and safe. She allowed herself to be completely enveloped in his strong arms, and wrapped her own around his waist. She could hear his heart beat.

She murmured her agreement, and lightly planted a kiss on the part of his chest that she was closest to. "Yeah, Corrival will sort it out. He's good like that." She said, her voice muffled by Ghastly's chest. "I doubt we'll be put with someone unreasonable with Corrival in charge, so I suppose we're safe in that respect."

"_And_," he added, "we could go on more walks, more dates, and I can make steak more often too"

She lifted her head to gain eye contact with him, and she grinned. "Sounds great!" She smiled and wrapped one of her hands to the back of his head, and gently pulled him towards her. She planted several light kisses on his lips, and when she pulled away, smiled wider. "I think I'd love that."

"You think so?" He replied, putting his hands to either side of her head and pulling her in for a long, loving kiss. He ran his hands though her curly blonde hair and ignored the gust of wind that blew her long locks into his scarred face. He couldn't keep his hands off of her now. He put a hand to her belly and said to their unborn child, "You are going to be so spoiled."

Tanith laughed and placed her hand on his. "You're gonna be one big baby, so steak will be our diet, kid." She said, grinning as she looked back up at Ghastly. "And daddy's gonna be the one to cook it. Right, dad?"

"Naturally," Ghastly grinned. He shook his head, the smile still plastered to his face, "Has it hit you yet, Tanith? It's not just the two of us anymore, there are three."

Tanith grinned sheepishly. "It hit me last night, actually. I was just laying there, and I pictured us as a family, y'know? I realized that from here on out, we'll have someone to completely depend on us." She admitted, her eyes sparkling in excitement. She sighed in content, and rested her forehead against Ghastly's.

But then it hit her.

That also meant that, with a child to depend on her, she couldn't return to her life of running on rooftops and walking around a crime scene. If she were to die, then Ghastly would be left with their child. The child would be motherless after her. She would have to have responsibility.

But that'd mean dropping _everything_ she had ever known. From a little girl, she had been trained as an assassin, and even though she ditched that career path, her life still revolved around adventure and mischief. She could no longer lead that life. Not ever. She involuntarily felt her shoulders sag, and her eyes suddenly opened. Nevermore would she be working for Skulduggery and Valkyrie, and the Sanctuary. Nevermore.

Ghastly felt his wife sag. "What's wrong?" he asked, worried that she might be going through another bout of morning sickness. "Are you feeling ill again?"

Tanith frowned slightly, her eyes unable to return to look at Ghastly's. Her gaze looked over distractedly above his shoulder, behind him. "No, no... Not ill." She murmured, and she looked down.

She sighed. "You know how, every time, or almost every time, we'd get a new case, we'd just be relaxing at home? How Skulduggery would call you or me or come over? We'd debate and discuss and talk and plan? That's... That's not going to happen. Not with me. Not anymore." She said, spilling it all out. "I'll have the kid to be there for. I'll… I'll never be sneaking around with Valkyrie or catching criminals ever again."

She didn't know what to do. That life was everything about her, except Ghastly. Ghastly was probably the one thing that would stay the same. But what would happen now? She'd be staying at home. Looking after the kid. She no longer had the option of doing what she loved. She had to be actually responsible.

Ghastly knelt down enough for her to see him without looking up. "Hey," he said, putting his hands on her shoulders, "this isn't the end, Tanith, this is just he beginning of a whole new adventure for us. We may not get to help Sklduggery and Valkyrie for a while, but think of all the things we get to look forward to. Our baby's first words, first steps, and when they get older we'll teach them magic and different disciplines, and we'll be there when they announce what their taken name is. It will be a different life for us for a while, a quieter life, less dangerous."

Ghastly put and arm around his wife and rubbed her back "But we're trading our hectic lives for a child, and it won't last forever, they'll grow up and leave the house, and we'll be back to square one, free to travel and be as reckless as we wish..." his voice started to become quiet, "that is, unless we have more children."

Tanith found herself wanting comfort more than anything, and when Ghastly hunkered down in front of her to look her in the eye, she had never felt more relieved. He could've taken that a whole different way, but he was so much better than that. He was going to be the perfect husband and father she, or anyone else, could ever wish for.

She found herself nodding in agreement. Maybe this is what she wanted. The look on his face when she came back from the Remnant possession was all she needed to see to know that she really did love that man, and he loved her. This new life that they were making, where instead of fighting deranged criminals they were watching their son or daughter take their first steps. Instead of being wounded they'd be teaching their child to defend themselves.

Tanith smiled and leaned into Ghastly, snuggling into his broad chest as his arms wrapped around her back. She sighed happily, in favor of everything that he said. And then he mentioned more children, and Tanith blinked. He... He wanted more? Or rather, he'd want more, after this? Tanith found herself grinning. She lifted her head so that her eyes could fully see his, and she kissed him, long and lovingly, until she pulled away after a few minutes. "I reckon that could be arranged." She smiled a beautiful smile.

Ghastly's eye widened, she'd be willing to bear more of his children? She was so miserable when she had morning sickness that he never imagined she'd want to go through that again. Never mind that fact she hasn't gone through all the other aches and pains of pregnancy yet. He was the man, he only provided the seed to make a child. Tanith, on the other hand, would have to carry it for the next nine to ten months and then _painfully push it out of her body_.

He held her out at arms length, looking at her skeptically, "You're adorable, you know that? I want a large family, but I don't want it if you don't feel you can provide it. It's your body after all."

Tanith laughed again, and shook her head, grinning as she did so. "A large family we'll have, Ghastly." She said, and thought for a minute. Then she shrugged. "Though we'll leave a couple of years' break in between kids, right?" She said jokingly, and leaned forward to kiss his lips once again.

She found it a tad strange that she had a sudden surge of feeling enthusiastic about having children again. Hell, she wasn't alien to it all. It'll be painful, and she'll be very low at some points, but... The idea of finally relaxing after a load of pain, her husband kissing her head whilst a nurse smiles at her as she tells her about her baby... It just sounded wonderful.

She chuckled to herself. And the maternal instincts haven't even kicked in yet.

Ghastly laughed, "No, we don't have to have them all at once. We don't even have to have them in the same decade. We could have two or three children in the next few years then wait until they are grown and well adjusted adults to have more. We're mages, we live a long time."

Ghastly found Tanith's changing moods and feelings amusing, she was hormonal and he could tell that she was confusing herself. It was funny now, but he knew it wouldn't be as entertaining when she started going from angry, to horny, and then to weepy and sad.

"You and your brother have quiet an age gap now that I think about," he added.

Tanith grinned, happy that he was thinking the same way. "That _is_ rather true." She agreed. "The age gap between us is rather... huge, by any means," she said, holding his hand as they walked.

She took a deep breath and smiled, taking in the scenery before the night engulfed it. The sky had started to turn dark as they were speaking, and she could only just see a star in the sky, behind the leaves of the trees. Any other time, she'd probably be in an alleyway waiting for that moment to strike, or training Valkyrie or just hanging around the Sanctuary in general. But from here on out, she'd be at Ghastly's. That was her home now.

"I cannot bloody wait for this kid to come." She blurted out, looking back to her husband with a big grin on her face.

"In less than a year we'll be holding our child," Ghastly started, "that's hardly any time at all by a sorcerer's standers."

Ghastly stopped walking, already able to feel the oncoming cold weather as night closed in. He tugged on Tanith's hand lightly, this was their own little signal that it was getting dark and it was time to turn around. They did just that, and they were soon on their way home.

A comfortable silence drifted for a while at they continued walking. After a while, she looked up at Ghastly. "Just had a thought." She started, "What're we gonna call the kid? Boys and girls names?"

Ghastly hesitated, he had all sorts of name he liked, none of which he felt were good enough for his child. "Uhh..." was all he could muster, "you shouldn't let me pick names, I'd name it after tea," he smiled jokingly."You pick."

Tanith laughed, and elbowed him playfully. She leaned back as she walked, feeling more relaxed. "I don't actually know what we'd name them. I like exotic names, so we could start there." She said, thinking further.

"Jasmine is exotic...but that's tea," Ghastly said, holding her hand a little bit tighter. "We also need to keep in mind that the name needs to be hard for people to guess, we can't have other sorcerers using our child's name against them. The only names that are coming to mind are Owen and Edward, but those are older names and they would be guessed easily."

Tanith grinned. "They do sound pretty older." She said, and started thinking deeper. She remembered Frightening talking about his old life before he left for world traveling and work. A name from Africa popped into her head, and she looked back at her husband. "How about Kali?" She asked, liking the sound of the name. She didn't know if it had a meaning, like most Swahili names did, but she did like the sound of it. "I like the sound of it. Kah-lee." She said, grinning.

Ghastly nodded, "I like it, what kind of name would we give a son?" He grinned, thinking how to answer his own question, "There's Ewan, Everett, Aiden."

Tanith's eyes sparkled, and she squeezed his hand. "I actually love Aiden for a boys name." She said, and grinned as she imagined having a boy, being carried on his father's shoulders, being paraded around the room. And a girl being swooped up into her father's arms, giggling as she's held in the air.

She shook her head to get back to the real world. Okay, she had to ask now. "How many kids, in our entire, y'know, lives do you think we're gonna have?" She asked, the idea of his reaction making her grin further.

"How many?" Ghastly echoed, the goofiest grin taking over his scarred face. "I can see us having a large family. Maybe ten to twelve. Can you imagine the Holiday dinners though?" Ghastly yawned after speaking.

Tanith laughed, imagining a crowd of kids and adults gathered round a small table, playfully insulting and punching each other. "That'd be manic!" Remembering that it was pancake day in a short while, Tanith grinned. "How good are you at making pancakes by the way?" She asked, swinging their hands as they walked.

"Cause you'll be making a hella lot of them when we have our big family." She laughed, not wanting to wait for their family to start.

When she had first found she was pregnant, she hadn't known how to react. Her life of mischievous adventure and fun was to end, because even after she would've given birth, she'd have a child reliant on her. This was an entirely new life they were creating for themselves, and Tanith, having seen the light given to her by her Ghastly, was looking forward to it immensely.

"I've been making pancakes longer than you've been alive," Ghastly winked, and kissed the top of his wife's head, "and it probably wouldn't hurt if I taught you some of my recipes."

Ghastly could feel himself feeding off of Tanith's excitement, regardless of how late it was getting, and how tired and lethargic he'd be soon. Ghastly has definitely not a night person, but for Tanith, god, he would try.

Tanith grinned and raised her head a little higher. "I wouldn't mind being taught a few recipes for food, actually. I'll be at home most of the time, so it'd make sense." She said, nodding as she did so.

She looked up to look at him, and laughed when she saw that his usual night grogginess was starting to appear on his face. Knowing he'll be tired soon, she squeezed his hand and bumped his arm that she was holding with hers. "Come on you, we need to get dinner on before we go to sleep." She reminded him, and continued walking through the woods, back to where they came from; home.

Ghastly and Tanith's definition of home was about to become very different, very soon. With Ghastly stepping down from the Council, opening up his shop full time again, and Tanith leaving her freelance work behind, things were never going to be the same. A new chapter in their lives was being unfolded, and it would all happen inside their humble _home._

Ghastly wrapped his arm around Tanith, strategically placing his hand on her belly. "Yes, mum," He responded, holding her _as close as he could._


End file.
